Marriage gone sour has sweet conclusion

In return, he got a big, wet, sloppy smooch back from the fans at Fenway Park.

Now, finally, Youkilis and the Red Sox can put each other in the rear-view mirror and say goodbye with a fond wave and a sincere, slightly sad smile.

If he had to leave the Red Sox -- and boy, did he ever -- Youkilis can forever thank the baseball gods for lightening up on him at last on his final day with the only organization he has known since being drafted 11 years ago.

In the late afternoon of an early summer day, an indelible Fenway moment was forged for an unforgettably hard-nosed Red Sox player.

The last-second gust of goodwill for Youkilis came just in time. Up until yesterday, the newest member of the White Sox had been serving his final days with the Red Sox as if he were counting down a prison sentence, only nobody would tell him when he'd be freed.

He was miserable, he was stressed and he felt unwanted, a state he'd been in since manager Bobby Valentine questioned his level of emotional commitment in April.

The sour aftertaste from that exchange, and perhaps from earlier in spring training, never really went away, at least from Youkilis. And once rookie Will Middlebrooks arrived on the scene to show that he was capable of taking over for Youkilis, this marriage was all but dead.

The end came yesterday, which was strange because after three days of sitting on the bench (presumably because a trade was near), Youkilis was in the starting lineup. That was awkward, especially after he fell on his left wrist diving for a ball in the third inning. He required brief medical attention, but stayed in the game.

And when he came up in the seventh, it was just after general manager Ben Cherington came into the dugout to tell Valentine to get him out of there as soon as possible. There was a deal.

Youkilis drove a pitch to the gap. The deities sent a brain-scrambling jolt to center fielder Michael Bourn and right fielder Jason Heyward, who could not decide who should catch it. The ball fell between them and Youkilis had an RBI triple.

That allowed Valentine to make the ultimate substitution. In came Nick Punto to pinch-run for Youkilis, who sprinted toward Punto for a bear hug.

By then, the 37,565 in attendance understood exactly what was happening. Like somebody had twirled the volume knob all the way up as fast as possible, the roar of "Yoouuuuuk!" cascaded from the stands, washing over Youkilis. Slowing his run to a kid-like skip, Youkilis put the fingertips of both hands to his mouth and then flung them outward, sending his own smooch back.

Then it was to the dugout, where he was hugged by his teammates. Youkilis emerged from the dugout for a brief curtain call before sprinting into the clubhouse and toward his new home.

Valentine, who raised his cap to salute Youkilis during the curtain call, certainly sounded like somebody who gets Youkilis now.

"He's legendary," the manager said. "His work ethic, his dedication, his ability on the field. He can never come off the field with a clean uniform. He always gave everything he had. The fans here get it. There's no doubt about it. It was perfect."

That it was: Youkilis was ready to leave, and the Red Sox were ready to see him off.

Yesterday everybody got their wish in a parting scene that left everyone happy.